The art of lost wax casting

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog post. I'm not a person who is very good at writing, but I would love to share some of my processes and ideas, and keep you posted with news. I think my blog posts will be visual rather than wordy but will hopefully convey my passion and creativity in an engaging way!

I've just recently listed some of our charms in the shop in gold and rose gold. These are our most popular designs from our woodland collection. If you follow me on Instagram then you may know that I am a little bit of a wax carving geek, and the lost wax technique is how a lot of my creations are made.

Our rabbit charm carved in jeweller's wax.

My work always starts off in my sketchbook as pencil drawings and little notes. Originally I wanted this little bunny to be hopping but as I started to carve him, it changed.  I love the way he is sitting quietly, observing the world around him.  For this collection I read a lot about the Victorians and their jewellery. Their jewellery is known to be symbolic and sentimental, and often given as gifts to symbolise a significant life event.  For example, buttercups feature in many Victorian designs for young women as they embodied all things jovial and youthful. 

A little buttercup wax. The woods near my house are abundant in buttercups during the early summer when I made this.

Once my waxes are carved, I take then to the casters in London and they are cast in metal. I tidy them up, file off the sprue (the small vessel where the metal in poured into the cast) and make sure they are in perfect condition for making a mould.

The casters can then make a master mould so I can have multiple pieces made.  Each casting is filed, finished and polished by hand before attaching to a chain and sending off to their new home.

Our tiny rabbit necklace in sterling silver.

I had quite a few requests recently to make these in gold and rose gold. So I took some pieces to the platers in Hatton Garden where they plated them for me. I make sure I get a nice thick plating so the quality is lovely and long lasting. I love the pieces in yellow gold the most, the colour is amazing, and I think they are most in keeping with the era they were originally inspired by. A lot of ladies love rose gold now, and these have had some lovely positive responses too.

Mister rabbit glimmering in yellow gold.

Our swooping swallow necklace in rose gold.

You can see our little woodland charms here.  I'm thinking of making a few more woodland creatures next Spring- perhaps a wise owl, a butterfly and a magical fern. What woodland inspired pieces would you like to see?

Now the darker days are drawing in I am designing a collection inspired by stars, planets and the night sky.  I will write an update about this soon.

Have a splendid week!